By Erin Mangold, Student Reporter

A racially diverse group of people, who call themselves United by Faith, gathered at the Abilene Public Library at the Mockingbird branch Thursday to discuss the latest book they are reading, Race Matters by Cornell West.

Dr. Jeanene Reese, associate professor of Bible, missions and ministry, and Brandon Jones, higher education graduate student from Abilene, presented the book.

About 24 members are in United by Faith, but the book study is open to the public. The group consists of people from all different races. It is community-based and open to anyone who would like to participate, Reese said.

The group began meeting in the mornings once a week, then progressed into sharing a meal once a month at different members’ houses.

Dr. Douglas Foster, associate dean of the Graduate School of Theology and one of the founders of the group, said, “Because we met at homes, we developed close relationships with each other where we could openly talk about difficult issues.”

The group began the book study recently, with this Thursday beginning of the four-month series.

The book series is named after the late Brenda Van Dunk, who was a professor of social work at ACU.

Jones, a member of the group, said, “The overall goal is to have the difficult conversations that people are not having and to be able to express feelings without having a fear of rejection.”

United by Faith wants to be an agent for reconciliation, promoting understanding and the enrichment of relationships among cross-racial barriers to develop bonds that will facilitate those conversations, Foster said.

All of the book studies will be at the Mockingbird branch of the Abilene Public Library. The next meeting will be Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m., and the book to be discussed will be Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.

Future book discussions include Asian Americans: An Interpretive History by Sucheng Chan on March 26 and Crossings: Mexican Immigration in Interdisciplinary Perspectives by Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco on April 30, according to the Abilene Reporter-News.